Designing Adult Services: Strategies for Better Serving Your Community

by Ann G. Roberts

Focusing on adult patrons ages 19 through senior citizens, this book explains how libraries can best serve this portion of their community's population at different life stages and foster experiences that are "worth the trip"―whether actual or virtual.

Adult library patrons are busier than ever before―working, taking classes and studying for advanced degrees, caring for children, helping their aging parents, taking care of their homes or rental properties, planning and nurturing careers, managing investments and retirement funds, and inevitably retiring. Each of these endeavors can require highly specific learning and education. Throughout their lives, adults continue to have different information needs that the library and its services can fill. Designing Adult Strategies for Better Serving Your Community discusses the many ways libraries can serve adults of various ages and at different life stages, covering online services, collection development, programming, and lifelong learning.

This guide's unique approach simplifies the processes of designing and carrying out a successful adult services program for adult library users in all the various stages of life. The book is organized by age groups, with the respective information needs and life challenges. Each chapter suggests programs, services, and collection development strategies for the life stages. Public library administrators and managers as well as adult services librarians in public libraries will find this guide a must-read.

Genres: Nonfiction, Professional Development, Librarianship

194 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2017

About the author

Ann Roberts is a reference librarian at the United State Patent and Trademark Office, Public Search Facility. She has worked in public, academic, and government libraries, as well as with historical collections.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! This book was published in 2018 and it couldn't be more accurate or thorough. I wish that the cover art of the really good print resources was more eye-catching.
"Do not forget that we continue to grow and develop mentally through out our lives." This was in the book. This is why adults, just as much as TEENS, kids and Early Literacy are important to Library success.
The book is divided into age categories:
19-20's: careers, GED's, online resources, board games, coffee house concerts
25-30's: entrepreneurship, small biz technology, hot current topics, adulting 101, makerspace projects, pop culture trivia, coloring therapy, poker/game night, speed book dating, mental wellness, cooking, outside of the library outreach book groups (like in a coffee shop)
30's-40's: couples/new relationships/rekindling marriages/single parents social engagement/etc, LGBTQ support was specifically mentioned in this area, Pets, parenting, health literacy,
45's-50's aka Mid Life: Sandwich Generation problem solving, caregivers, understanding diseases and meds, real estate, finance, time management, home improvement, individual health, home décor, crafts, grants for small biz owners, active seniors, new skills and small business start-up
55-65: Retirement planning, Money saving, eco-living, second career, online sales, travel and vacations,
65-75 aka Baby Boomers and Grandparents: Digital Literacy, Art Journaling and Scrapbooks, Storytellers, Volunteer services/opportunities, and Genealogy
75+: outreach to asst. living, history, journalism, healthy aging, final planning etc
Specialty Adults meaning:
Immigrant Community: ESL classes, understanding the Library 101, Citizenship seminars and assistance, Heritage Month celebrations, Career and Job assistance
Incarcerated Adults: Life and Job Skills through Online resources, Read to Me (online video storytime from incarcerated adults to their children) or Call Me Ishmael (an influential book group of books that helped incarcerated adults cope),
Mentally and Physically Disabled or Handi-Capped: None specific in terms of programs, but library services to be inclusive
LGBTQ Adults: Program ideas include Book Groups and Book Group Speed Dating

These among others are all featured, but the big thing about it is KNOW your community and who you are OR aren't serving and how to do so.

[Bree ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

this has useful tips for improving library services for adults, as the title suggests. the chapters are split into age groups, focusing on ideas that would prove most appropriate and likely to be successful for each group. i thought that this was a great read for adult service librarians looking to try something new (it's me, the adult services librarian looking to try something new).

[Cathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sure there were some good nuggets of information in here, but most of it seemed pretty common sense to me. Nothing new I plan to implement.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Divided into chronologic age groups with program and service ideas. Helpful supplement for 734 course.